Cameos

The Legend of Zelda series has had a large impact on the video game industry. Subsequently, references to elements from the Legend of Zelda series have surfaced in other video games, ranging from oblique shout-outs to the appearances of actual characters.

While in the ship's kitchen, when Junpei inspects the appetizer plates for the first time, a short conversation ensues in which Junpei says "Well excuuuse me, princess!" to Lotus. This is most likely a reference to Link's infamous line from the Legend of Zelda animated series.

The Triforce, Fused Shadow (called "Midna's Mask"), Majora's Mask, the "Makar Mask", the "Fi Mask", and the Master Sword make appearances as furniture or headgear. Additionally, when clicked the Triforce separates and reassembles, and the Master Sword plays the "secret found" jingle. The Hero's Clothes and Hero's Cap resemble Link's clothes and hat, respectively. Clothes resembling those worn by Anju and Kafei can also be obtained. When Katrina, the fortune teller, comes to town or is visited in the city, the Triforce design can be seen in her tent on the wall, and a triangular pattern on the rug. She also makes a reference to Nayru if the player character wears the Hero's Cap or Hero's Clothes.

To obtain the Master Sword replica in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, one must buy a fortune cookie for 2 Play Coins, and receive the fortune that reads, "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this." (the famous quote from the very first Zelda game) They must take that fortune to Timmy or Tommy Nook, and then Timmy or Tommy will give the player the Master Sword replica in return.

A clothing item, the Bunny Hood appears in these games, but it may or may not be a cameo, due to it not resembling the Bunny Hood in Ocarina of Time at all.

In Animal Crossing for GCN after one of Kapp'n's salty sea shanties, Kapp'n will sometimes say "Yar. Have ye ever spent a night in a Hyrulian prison?", this is an obvious reference to The Legend of Zelda.

In Doubutsu no Mori, Doubutsu no Mori +, Animal Crossing, and Doubutsu no Mori e+, it's possible to collect NES Games as furniture items and actually play them. One of the secret games is The Legend of Zelda, which is only obtainable in Animal Crossing through the use of Action Replay codes.

Sometimes villagers talk about "a boy in a far off land land, who wears green, and knocks things out of the air with a boomerang". This is probably a reference to Link. When the player catches a loach, the in-game description reads, "I caught a loach! You don't suppose it's Hylian, do you?" When opening another villager's or player's drawer, it will sometimes say on-screen "You found 100 Rupees! But you can't use it here." This is a reference to the currency of the Zelda series.

Another Code series

Trace Memory, the North American version of Another Code: Two Memories, features a small reference to The Legend of Zelda. In the library is a book named The Legend of Zelda Chronology, possibly as a reference to the Legend of Zelda series' timeline, which was uncertain at the time.

A similar reference is found in the sequel, Another Code: R. During a conversation between the characters Ashley and Matthew, Ashley says "It's dangerous to go alone. What if something happens to you?". This most likely refers to the famous words of the Old Man at the beginning of The Legend of Zelda.

The titular character can equip the Hero of Hyrule costume set in the Wii U version of Bayonetta and Bayonetta II. This will cause her to resemble Link in appearance and will prompt many sound effects from A Link to the Past to play when performing certain actions. Halos, the currency of the game, will also be replaced with Rupees. Bayonetta's updated redesign in Bayonetta II features earrings featuring what appears to be the Triforce. As this is a Wii U exclusive game unlike it's predecessor, this reference is likely deliberate.

This indie game by Edmund McMillen of Team Meat is an isometric dungeon crawler heavily influenced by the original Legend of Zelda. The most notable influence graphic-wise is the HUD, which closely mimics the design and style of the one in Zelda.

Multiple items in the game are references to items in the first Legend of Zelda. Among them are Hearts, Bombs, and Keys, but there are also items that function the same and resemble the Compass, Map, and Stepladder.

Several enemies behave similarly to enemies from The Legend of Zelda. Some of these enemies behave the same as Ropes and Darknuts. The bosses Chub, C. H. A. D., and the Carrion Queen have the same weakness as Dodongo. The boss Pin is inspired from Lanmolas in its attack patterns, and the boss Scolex seems to be inspired from both Lanmolas and Moldorm, as it will burrow underground, and its only weakness is its tail.[1]

There is a slim chance, when using the telepills, that it will take the protagonist to a secret room. The room contains a character who says "I AM ERROR."[2]

In some endings of the game, the protagonist will open a treasure chest, and take out an item. he will then hold the item up high, exactly like the the Zelda series, while the "Item Get!" theme will play.[3]

A character called Crazy Tracy appears in this game. She is believed to be a reference to the character of the same name in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. To further this theory she has a picture of Link and Mario on the wall of her mansion.

According to a Brotherhood Knight Scroll, there is a Great Dekuh Tree that protected the forest from attacks by dark creatures. It was later cursed by Dark Lords. The Great Dekuh Tree is a clear homage to the Great Deku Tree from Ocarina of Time.

Dawn of War II: Retribution

In Donkey Kong Country 2, Link appears as one of "Cranky's Video Game Heroes". Specifically, Link holds the third place in the rankings for most DK Coins gathered.

In Donkey Kong Country 3, when asking Bazaar the Bear about Baron K. Roolenstein's castle without paying, he mentions something about a cheeky boy called Link who was also looking for the castle earlier.

Many songs from the Zelda series are featured in the game Donkey Konga and its sequels. A slot machine mode which features pictures of characters from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is also featured in Donkey Konga.

In Tropical Freeze, one of the banana formations is a Rupee. Funky Kong also makes reference to the quote "It's dangerous to go alone, take this."

One quest involves collecting the four pieces of the Quadforce. One piece is found outside Linken's house. The Quadforce is like the Triforce and the boss of the quest is Gananana, a name which sounds similar to Ganon, and the rewards are a dagger, sword and staff of eye-rule, which sounds like Hyrule. The rarest price which can only be sold for 250 gold is Ocarina of Thyme.

If you talk to Farkas after he turns into a werewolf in Dustman's Cairn, you can ask if all the Companions have that ability. He will say that only members of The Circle can turn into werewolves and that "It's a secret to everybody."

In Fable III, among the many tombstones in Mourningwood reads one that says "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this.", a clear reference to the famous words of the Old Man. The hero's dog will also bark signaling that treasure can be dug up at the grave, unearthing a toy sword, which is made of wood, much like the Wooden Sword.

The name "Zelda" also appears as a randomly generated name for non-player characters, however, the characters themselves may not actually resemble Zelda.

In the iOS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation and PlayStation Portable versions of the original Final Fantasy, a gravestone in Elfheim reads "Here lies Link." It is commonly believed that the grave is a reference to Link as the resident of the village with long ears and green tunics similar to the Hero's Clothes. In the NES version, the gravestone says "Here lies Erdrick 837 - 866. R. I. P.", a character from the Dragon Quest series, rather than Link. In Whisperwind Cove, a dungeon of the same remake, a fairy has the lines "Hey! Listen!" possibly referencing the voiceover lines of Navi, Link's fairy partner found in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, a blue sword titled Master Sword can be found. It is one of the most powerful swords in the game and is thought to be a reference to legendary blade from Zelda mythos.

In Find Mii, Link's hat and hair is made available as headwear upon the completion of Mirage Tower during the first playthrough of the game. The sequel, Find Mii 2, includes a hat based on Epona, as well as one based on the Triforce.

Game & Watch: Zelda is featured as a playable game. It is the last game that can be unlocked and can only be unlocked by acquiring a high amount of stars earned from playing other games. The game was very different to its original due to the different screen size of the Game Boy Advance. The bottom screen was reduced. Its height is about ⅔ that of the original screen, but it is almost twice its length.

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, a sprite of Link has been found in unused data of the game. Hacking is the only way to make him appear. He replaces Felix's sprite in the overworld. Due to it being unfinished data, the sprite is slightly glitchy. As soon as Link starts walking, he will remain in his walking animations even if he comes to a full stop, but will automatically stand still as soon as the player presses A to open up the menu. It is unknown what purpose Link would play in the the game, but it was most likely intended to be just a cameo appearance.

The "legendary spoon" that Hamtaro and Bijou must find at one point in the game seems to be a reference to the Master Sword. Its "hilt" bears a strong resemblance to the Master Sword's from A Link to the Past. The spoon is also kept in a pedestal, and requires three marbles to free it, colored red, blue, and green.

One of the various shopkeepers in the game can be pressured to lower his prices. If this is done, he will request "Buy somethin', will ya?", the same line spoken by some of the Merchants from the first Zelda game.

While not as obvious as the above two references, Hamtaro also holds items above his head upon receiving them in much the same manner as Link.

The Longest Journey

It is commonly thought that the green cap and blue sword that Kirby receives after swallowing a sword enemy are a reference to Link and the Master Sword. Kirby also wields a sword simply called "Master" in a battle against an enemy called "Dark Mind". Kirby is sometimes required to draw the Triforce on the Paint Panic mini-game in Kirby: Canvas Curse.

In Kirby Super Star, Kirby and Blade Knight (as well as Meta Knight and Sword Knight in the game's Nintendo DS remake) can use the Sword Beam attack when at full health (in Kirby's case, only while using the Sword ability), much like in many games in the Zelda series. Other variations of sword beam are seen in the series as well. Kirby Super Star also contains a valuable item called the Triforce, which can be found in the Great Cave Offensive.

The Underworld Gatekeeper boss has a Triforce symbol on it. Also, the first line of the Idol description for the Fairy Orbitars, "Tired of pixies asking you to listen?" refers to Navi, whose most famous line is, "Hey! Listen!"

One of the many weapons the players can find is known as the "Sword of Masters", an homage to the Master Sword. It is located in an area that is extremely similar to the grove where the Master Sword is found in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It can fire a sword beam when the user is at full health, and uses a sound effect reminiscent of the one from A Link to the Past.

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario can obtain an item known as the Warp Whistle, which both looks and sounds like the Recorder (also called the Whistle) from The Legend of Zelda. As in The Legend of Zelda, when played, the Warp Whistle summons a whirlwind that warps Mario to a different world. Also, the overworld music in World 3 sounds very similar to the Fairy's Theme.

In Mario Golf, Link's name can be seen on the golfer ranking in Tournament Mode.

Mario receiving the Great Force.

In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, there is an item known as the "Great Force", which is represented by a golden triangle, evoking the image of the Triforce. Also, it was originally intended that Link would appear in the game to present Mario and Luigi with this reward (as well as several other Nintendo characters to issue their respective items) but ultimately the idea was scrapped and each character was replaced with Professor E. Gadd.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a supercomputer named "T.E.C." asks Princess Peach how Mario would seal away the thousand-year old Demon, one of the alternative answers is "the mystical sword of legend?", a likely reference to The Legend of Zelda.

In Super Mario 3D Land, Level 5-2 contains elements from The Legend of Zelda for NES, even including the "Item Found" sound effect. When the level's numbers are flipped, it becomes apparent that its placement is a reference to the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series.

The concept of light/dark duality in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is commonly compared to that of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In fact, Retro Studios was assisted by the creators of A Link to the Past.

The bumper sticker on the Gunship

If the player has save data for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on their Wii, and they have the Ship Bumper Stickers unlocked in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, then the emblem present on Link's Hylian Shield and in various parts of Hyrule will appear on top of Samus Aran's Gunship.

In Metroid: Other M, there are several green-colored glowing insects in various areas of the Bottle Ship that bear a great deal of resemblance to fairies in the Legend of Zelda series. They also share the same purpose; guiding Samus to a powerup. Concept art for the Skultera features a drawing with their mouths open, saying "Buy something will ya!"

Nintendo Land

One of the mini-games is named The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, and involves one to four players battling their way through hordes of various enemies from the Legend of Zelda series. The player with the gamepad uses a bow and the players with Wii Remotes use Master Swords.

Although Okami does not contain a direct reference, director Hideki Kamiya admits he has been influenced by The Legend of Zelda series while developing the PlayStation 2 title, which was also adapted for the Wii in 2008.[5] Coincidentally, both Ōkami and TP feature a wolf as a playable character, with Amaterasu and Wolf Link, respectively.

In the Ponc'tan area, the houses' doors show a symbol identical to that of Kokiri's Emerald.

In Pokemon Stadium 2, several home video consoles are seen. Interestingly all of them contain a Legend of Zelda game in the cartridge slot (The Legend of Zelda is in the NES, A Link to the Past is in the SNES and Ocarina of Time is in the Nintendo 64).

Various characters and items from the Legend of Zelda series appear as objects in the Wii U version that can be created with Maxwell's Notepad. These include Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon, Ganondorf, Navi, Epona, Dark Link, Beedle, Gorons, the Ocarina of Time, the Master Sword, a Hylian Shield, the Hookshot, the Triforce, and Rupees.

Slingo Mystery 2

Distributed as a downloadable content stage exclusive to the Wii version of Sonic Lost World, the Legend of Zelda Zone is a blatant reference to the Zelda franchise. The stage involves Sonic dressed in a green tunic, running through Zelda-themed areas such as Hyrule Field and various dungeons. Sonic's trademark Rings are replaced with Rupees. Sonic is given the same Hearts as shown in the Legend of Zelda, and at the end of the stage, he acquires the Triforce, assuming a pose mimicking Link during A Link to the Past's ending.

Link appears as a playable character in the Nintendo GameCube version of this game. The game features many of Link's Swords and Shields as well as a Bow, Boomerang and Bombs. It also makes reference to an Ocarina and Hyrule in his character info.

The Hero's Outfit, which resembles the green tunic and hat worn by Link, is a craftable and equipable item in the game. In the console version of the game, the Hero's Outfit is purple due to copyright issues.

Furthermore, there is a sword in the game called the Night's Edge, which is a possible reference to the Four Sword, in that four different swords that correspond to the colors of the four Links are used to craft the weapon.

If the player successfully completes a B type game at level 9, many Nintendo characters appear, playing various instruments. Among them is Link playing his Recorder.

On the DS version of Tetris, there is a game mode dedicated to Link. The game mode is like the Zelda series in a way that it it is highly based on puzzle solving. Music from the Zelda series also appears in this mode.

In Warcraft III and the expansion, if the player clicks a "Druid of the Claw" enough times he will say "Can't ... stop ... DANCING!" possibly in reference to Darunia (with music in the background somewhat like "Saria's Song").

Several of 9-Volt's mini-games in the series are based on games in the Legend of Zelda series: a game based on the original The Legend of Zelda, in which the player must guide Link into a cave, bypassing patrolling enemies and obstacles; a game involving the use of the Deku Leaf to transport Link to the Forbidden Woods in The Wind Waker; removing the Master Sword from its pedestal in Ocarina of Time; conducting Link and several other characters to play Nintendo music using their instruments; and slashing ChuChus in Phantom Hourglass. Music, sound effects, and stamps of characters from throughout the series are also commonly used.

This is a WiiU game involving a team of one-hundred Japanese-themed superheroes who must stop an alien invasion by utilizing their morphing powers. Just like many other games from this development studio (Platinum Games), it has a large amount of pop-culture and video game references, some of which are Zelda related:

Operation 005 takes place in "The Lost City of Lowrule", a play-on-words of Hyrule. Coincidentally, Lorule is also the name of the alternate Hyrule from A Link Between Worlds.

The player earns an achievement for slicing all of the grass in the first level of Operation 005.

P-Star, a miniature robot that assists and gives the player tips throughout the course of the game, quotes the Secret Moblin's famous line, "It's a secret to everybody."

Blizzard pays homage to The Legend of Zelda in World of Warcraft through an NPC gnome named Linken. Located in Un'Goro crater, he shows a resemblance to classic Link and gives the player various quests to recover his memory after finding his equipment on a wrecked raft. The rewards include items resembling the Master Sword and boomerang. Finally, the quests are titled "It's Dangerous to Go Alone" and "It's a Secret to Everybody", both of which are quotes from the original The Legend of Zelda. Other items and pieces of dialogue found during this quest are references to The Legend of Zelda, as well. Also found in Un'Goro Crater is a large reptilian creature named Dadanga whose owner claims that she doesn't like smoke (another quote from the first game and an obvious reference to Dodongos).

In the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion pack, Linken reappears as a guest party member at Sethria's Roost in Mount Hyjal. He rides a brown horse resembling Epona. Linken also says some of Link's quotes, "Excuuuse me, princess!" and "Oh boy! I'm so hungry I could eat a fire elemental!" Patch 4.3 revamped the Darkmoon Faire and added a three headed Hydra named Gleok in the Darkmoon Faire Zoo as a reference to Gleeok.

One of the music tracks available in Jam Sessions and Mii Maestro is The Legend of Zelda's Overworld theme. In Pitch Perfect, the answer to the question 'Which tune fits the feeling 'I found a pot of gold!' ?' is the Found Item theme. The end pose for the NES horn involves the Mii lifting it above their head in a similar way to Link finding an item, and an image of the Triforce coming out of the horn.

The Top Secret Room is "owned" by the real person, Chris Houlihan, who won a Nintendo Power contest in the early 1990s. He was rewarded by making an in-game appearance where he telepathically communicates with Link.

The theme that plays in Great Fairy Fountains is similar to the World 3 Map theme from Super Mario Brothers 3.

In other media

The Nintendo Monopoly board game uses several characters from the Zelda series along with many other Nintendo characters to represent streets in the game. Link, Princess Zelda and Ganondorf are represented on Pennsylvania Avenue, North Carolina Avenue, and Pacific Avenue respectively. Images from various Zelda games can also be seen on the background of the board.